EuroBeachVolley to resume on Friday with mouth-watering Round of 16 fixtures

The men’s and women’s competitions at the CEV EuroBeachVolley 2026 in Stare Jablonki have reached the Round of 16 – with the medal contenders and top seeds still chasing continental glory in this small, yet truly idyllic village in the Warmia Mazury Region. The tournament will resume on Friday morning with a few matches that already feature some of the top teams in Europe locking horns for a spot in the quarterfinals.  

Italy’s Valentina Gottardi and Reka Orsi Toth will play last year’s silver medal winners Clémence Vieira and Aline Chamereau of France. Gottardi and Orsi Toth are yet to lose a single set in the competition after comfortably edging their rivals from Lithuania and Germany in the pool phase. On the other hand, Vieira and Chamereau had to contest the Round of 24 where they easily defeated newly crowned Nations Cup winners Anhelina Khmil and Valentyna Davidova of Ukraine. 

Another matchup to look forward to in the Round of 16 will see 2024 European champions Cinja Tillmann and Svenja Müller of Germany play Dutchwomen Raïsa Schoon and Katja Stam. Tillmann and Müller surprisingly lost their second match in the pool phase to Marketa Svozilova/Marie-Sara Stochlova of Czechia before edging their countrywomen Louisa Lippmann and Melanie Paul in the Round of 24. 

Germany (with three teams) has the largest contingent still in the competition, followed by Switzerland, France, Czechia, and Ukraine with two apiece. Reigning World champions and two-time EuroBeachVolley winners (2019 and 2022) Tina Graudina and Anastasija Samoilova of Latvia are due to play Germany’s Linda Bock and Lea Kunst in the Round of 16.

The men’s competition will also resume on Friday with the Round of 16. The ‘big match’ to look forward to involves reigning Olympic and World champions David Ahman/Jonatan Hellvig of Sweden and 2024 EuroBeachVolley surprise champions Martins Plavins and Kristians Fokerots of Latvia. There is also a Duch derby between teams consisting of former partners – namely Stefan Boermans and Alexander Brouwer versus Steven van de Velde and Yorick de Groot. Five-time and reigning European champions Anders Mol and Christian Sørum of Norway are due to play Israel’s Eylon Elazar and Kevin Cuzmiciov – a pair that is trying to pursue the ultimate dream of securing Israel’s first-ever appearance in the Olympic Games (read more here). 

France is the sole nation with three teams left in the men’s competition followed by Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland with two each. 

For further information, visit the official event website https://eurobeachvolley.cev.eu/en/2026/